So, the car is loaded up, the house left dark, and I'm on my way through the thick fog. And I mean thick! I honestly thought they were going to delay the start. They probably would have if it was an open water swim, but this was in the pool. I got my packet, body marked, and transition set up. Hmm, what am I forgetting? Don't know, so I'll just go visit the facilities. Why can't I do this at home, where it's cleaner and the line is usually shorter? Geez!
During my travels around the site, people kept coming up to me that I didn't recognize (at least immediately) and asking how I was doing, and wishing me well on my continued recovery. One pair of ladies walked up and the first did basically the above. Then the other turned to the first and said, "Oh, that was HIM!?!" Wow, I guess I'm famous. Or something. Notorious?
The pre-race meeting went normally, and we lined up in the seeded start order for the 300yd swim. I had SWAG'd 5:20 for my time, so I started 49th. My start comes up, and I'm off. Within one length (25yds) I've caught up with the lady ahead of me. Clearly, one of us was way off on our estimate. I passed her 50yds later after setting up on a turn, and was off with clear sailing ahead of me. I got out of the pool feeling good, albeit winded from strong effort, but happy. I get to transition (150yd run?) and hit my watch: 5:09? Whoa, I must have been "on" in the water today! On to the bike leg...
I forgot to hit my watch at transition exit, so I didn't have my unofficial split, and only hit it about 1/2 mile later. My legs were feeling really sluggish and tired, and I didn't understand why. Then it hit me: the vitamins I normally take before a ride or race (essentially Sport Legs) were still in my bag. Doh! But, I slowly loosened up and started finding my groove. I picked up the pace and passed a lot of people. Until I blew by an untended and poorly marked turn. Double DOH! Fortunately the guys behind me let me know, and I turned around. I had to pass all these guys again, and the hills on this course were brutal. Not especially steep, but seemingly unending. I finished strong, and was into transition for the run. No idea of the actual time, but the average speed was over 21mph.
The run started on an uphill stretch, and my calf started cramping almost immediately. I backed off and ran through it, but my pace suffered. There was a dude in my AG that I tried to hang on to, but he was stronger than me today. I did get a kick at the end, but nothing spectacular. I crossed the line with an unofficial time of somewhere under 1:05:00. And Chad, I did yell SPARTA! when I crossed the line, just for you. I swear, I really did!
We milled around, talked with some folks, and got our gear back in the cars. After an extensive door-prize giveaway, the awards ceremony started. There were 4 of us that are sort of on the same "team" if you will. Jamie placed 2nd overall, but should have been first. We weren't using chip timing, and there was a SNAFU with gapped slots and compensating for the swim start. Oh well, still a good result. Johnathon and Cameron both placed 1st in their age groups, and they all left after getting their prizes (it was getting late in the morning by now). I stuck around for a bit longer, and they got to the men's 30-34 AG. I heard the 3rd place time, and a huge smile went across my face.
I placed 2nd in my age group, with a 1:04:29! Woo hoo!! The one race Mendy didn't attend this year, and I finally podium. While admittedly not the depth of ability in the other races, there were still plenty of fast people, so I'm happy.
After that, I went home to shower and change, and then we all loaded up to meet Mendy's dad for lunch. Holy cow, what a nice meal: a huge sliced prime rib sandwich and fries, washed down with some barley sodas. Now it's football time while Mendy rests and takes medicine.
